Setting SMART Goals
Companies are always rushing to create, promote, and engage audiences because that’s what makes money. But it’s important to know why you’re doing it before you start throwing money down the drain. The first step to any successful business practice is to set goals. You’ve got to know what you want to accomplish before you get anywhere with your consumers. Cabedge considers itself an expert on setting SMART goals, so let’s get started!
Let’s Get SMART
There’s a difference between setting goals and setting SMART goals.
SMART goals don’t have anything to do with your intelligence, but they do have something to do with your strategy. SMART stands for: Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. Let’s break that down further.
Let’s try and understand SMART goals by using the example of a dog grooming company, Bow Wow Cuts. Bow Wow Cuts is launching its first website, and it wants to increase traffic to its website by 15 percent in the first three months. Let’s analyze how this goal is SMART.
Specific: Because they are launching a website, it makes sense for Bow Wow Cuts to focus on the traffic that goes to that site specifically rather than tracking in-store visits or chew toy purchases. Without worrying about anything else, Bow Wow can track the impact that the website will have on its online presence.
Measurable: By determining that it wants to increase traffic by 15 percent Bow Wow has made this goal measurable. It knows how much it wants to increase traffic by, therefore it knows when it has hit that goal and can set a new goal.
Attainable: Bow Wow knows that it is launching a new website which is not likely to get an 80 percent increase in traffic, but 15 percent is a good number to reach in a reasonable amount of time.
Relevant: Bow Wow wants to focus on its online presence in this goal because of its recent website launch.
Time-bound: Bow Wow Cuts knows it wants to reach a 15 percent increase after three months of the site being live. After that three months is up, it can determine new goals. A deadline means a time-bound goal.
Having this SMART goal setting system determined before beginning any projects gives an organization and its team focus. It helps team members knows what the organization wants to achieve, and everything they do is catered toward accomplishing that goal. Including a unit of measurement and a due date provides a framework for the team. If the goal is too big or has an ambiguous end date, organizations are less likely to reach it because it becomes daunting or procrastination sets in. When you’ve got an end date for your goal, it gives you a new chance to evaluate success, adjust goals and set additional goals to continue moving forward. Goal setting is an endless cycle that provides organizations a chance to refocus themselves.
Setting goals can seem like an unnecessary step when there are 1,001 things to accomplish, but it’s the most important step because it sets the tone for the rest of the journey. If it’s done properly, goal setting leads to more determination, easily accomplished tasks and future success.
For help with professional goal setting for your organization, reach out to Cabedge today.
